POR Annual Report 2001-2002

The Look Ahead: Public Opinion Research Issues for the Coming Year

In looking ahead at the fiscal year 2002-2003, there are several challenges that Communication Canada and its partners will be addressing in relation to public opinion research.

Advertising Campaign Evaluation Tool:

There is a growing desire within the Government to develop a common set of measurements to evaluate the effectiveness of advertisements. The Government of Canada has developed a standard set of questions for use in surveys that evaluate major advertising campaigns. Departments are encouraged to use these questions in smaller campaigns, as well. This common measurement tool determines the effectiveness of Government of Canada advertisements. This new tool will help departments save money in the design of questionnaires and improve the consistency of the research and the ability to measure the effectiveness of advertisements.

On-Line Research:

On-line research is becoming increasingly popular and there is now a proliferation of software packages that make it easy for organizations to conduct such research. The Government of Canada will need to develop standards to determine what research is appropriate, when outside consultants need to be hired and what privacy and accessibility issues need to be addressed. While this research promises great value, it comes with its own set of issues that must be addressed. One of the main concerns presented by on-line research is that it often lacks the rigour and quality of traditional public opinion research. For the research to be useful, it must adhere to correct methodologies and the data must be interpreted correctly. This coming year, Communication Canada will endeavour to help develop government-wide standards for on-line research.

Service Improvement Initiative:

The Service Improvement Initiative is one of the important initiatives the Government of Canada is currently undertaking. Under the Initiative, departments and agencies are required to establish documented baseline measures of client satisfaction for key services to the public using a Common Measurements Tool (CMT). The CMT consists of 10 core questions that must be included by all departments and agencies when assessing client satisfaction levels. This tool must also be used in developing their annual Service Improvement Plans and core service standards. Communication Canada has been working with the Treasury Board Secretariat to establish standing offers related to the Service Improvement Initiative. The major requirement under the resulting standing offers will be the design, implementation, and analysis of client satisfaction surveys that incorporate the CMT.

Coordination and Sharing:

In 2002-03, Communication Canada will continue to work toward the twin goals of inter-departmental coordination of public opinion research and the sharing of this research among departments. Already there are a number of resources that will help facilitate the sharing of public opinion research, including easier access to research results and greater sharing of research methodologies and best practices among the government research community. In addition, the public opinion research working group will continue to meet regularly, with membership expanding to include coordinators from more departments, as well as contracting advisors from Public Works and Government Services Canada. The Directors General Committee on public opinion research will meet to discuss such emerging issues as on-line research, advertising evaluation and syndicated studies. A number of tools and resources will be implemented for the research community, including a methodological guide and expanded on-line information on public opinion research studies.

Published: August 2002 Updated: 2004-04-01	Top	Important Notices